Guidance for Procurements Less Than 25,000

Charity number SC004401 Guidance for procurements less than £25,000

Prepare a Brief Identify Suppliers Prepare Quotation Documents Receive & Evaluate Responses Notify Suppliers of Outcome Retention of Documentation Contract Management

Overview

This guidance is for individuals procuring non-framework goods and services with a total value less than £25,000. Individuals must ensure no local contracts or collaborative contracts held on GeM exist prior to initiating a procurement process. Please visit http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/procurementoffice/ for links.

Value of Purchase* Requirement £0 to £999 1 verbal quotation £1,000 to £2,999 1 written quotation £3,000 to £4,999 2 written quotations £5,000 to £24,999 3 written quotations £25,000 + Contact Procurement Office

* Total Value of Purchase; if a regular purchase, calculate the total value of spend, excluding VAT, over a 4 year period.

This guide will:

 Provide a set of guides and templates for conducting a procurement exercise valued under £25,00  Standardise the University of Glasgow’s procurement process for lower value procurements  Highlight the auditable obligations of conducting a procurement for lower value procurements

All procurement activity must be completed in line with our Code of Conduct Guidance where the term “tender evaluation team members” relate to the individual(s) requesting the written quotations. If a conflict of interest is identified, please contact the Head of Procurement immediately who can advise on how to proceed.

Reference: PR20-001-E Released: 10/06/2013 Owner: Procurement Office Guidance on Preparing a Brief Document

The template below provides a suggested format. As a minimum, identify the key requirements considering how the responses will be objectively evaluated and include estimated timescales for the requirement. Also consider how to manage the requirement in terms of Quality, Service, Cost and Delivery.

In exceptional circumstances presentations or site visits may be required and if applicable, this should be detailed also. Records of the interviews/presentations should be kept by Departments for audit purposes.

Objectives The main type, aim and purpose of work with any outcomes required should be indicated here with the timescale you want for the return of the quotations. Include instructions for return of quotations; detail how the suppliers should structure their responses. Where relevant, the invitation may include both the Selection Criteria and Award Criteria (see below). You may wish to specify anticipated outcomes of what you expect to be able to do as a result of this contract.

Costs Rates and prices should be requested, excluding VAT and inclusive of all additional expenses and carriage.

Additional information  For example this may be:  The University of Glasgow’s key contact details;  Intellectual property rights which you wish to be retained by the University  Any sustainability issues that could impact on the contract i.e. recycled paper for reports;  Any health & safety issues that may impact on the contract. ………………………………………………………………………………

Selection Criteria To assess the suppliers on their capability before getting into the quote evaluation. Criteria may be:  they must hold a particular qualification or supply to a particular standard  Previous relevant experience  Equal Opportunities  Health and Safety  Sustainability considerations as applicable ……………………………………………………………………………….

Award Criteria Where the award is not only price dependent, use an award criteria to assess the supplier on their ability to provide the goods/service. These should be weighted and quote responses scored against the criteria and weights.

Examples of award criteria are:

 Price  Quality  Delivery Lead Time  Warranty

Any individuals requiring support with award criteria or the subsequent evaluation, please contact the Procurement Office for support.

Reference: PR20-001-E Released: 10/06/2013 Owner: Procurement Office Identify Suppliers

You should seek written quotations from a minimum of three suppliers for buys of £5k to £25k who have the experience and expertise to meet your requirements for the goods or services. In order to receive three quotes back from suppliers you may wish to approach four or five suppliers in the event that some do not respond.

Suppliers may be identified by a number of methods including internet searches, trade publications, previous experience and phone directories.

You should endeavour not to restrict your selection to ONLY existing suppliers. This will help suppliers who have not previously bid for public sector work gain access to opportunities and gain experience working for the public sector. This will also facilitate competition, encourage innovation and ensure best value in future service delivery.

If only one supplier can undertake the work required you should seek approval for a Purchasing Policy Exception from the Procurement Office. For commercial reasons you should not inform the supplier that they are the only supplier involved in the process.

Prepare Quotation Documents

If required, prepare a short specification with selection and evaluation criteria using information from your brief document. All brand names must be followed by “or equivalent”, and update the Quote Specification Template.

Issue the request for quote, alongside all supporting documentation, using the Invitation to Quote Template Receive and Evaluate

All quote responses should be formally recorded within a Quotations Received Record.

For complex quotations requiring evaluation of qualitative and financial data, the Evaluation Model may be helpful. Notify Suppliers of Outcome

Identify the successful supplier from the Receive and Evaluate Responses process and seek any internal departmental approvals to award the contract.

The chosen supplier should be notified of their success in writing using the Contract Award Letter where appropriate. Simultaneously, unsuccessful suppliers should be notified using the Unsuccessful Quotation Letter. Any purchase order released thereafter forms our commitment to the supplier.

Retention of Documentation

A record for this process should be kept for any future audit. Please ensure you are familiar with the University’s document retention which can be found at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/dpfoioffice/guidanceonrecordsretention/

It should be noted that purchases of goods and services may be the subject of Freedom of Information requests.

Contract Management

The supplier's performance should be managed throughout the lifetime of the contract ensuring that the goods or services are delivered in line with the performance or service level expectations i.e Quality/Service/Cost/Delivery, identified in the original quotation. You should manage the contract to ensure that any changes to the original quotation are minimised.

Reference: PR20-001-E Released: 10/06/2013 Owner: Procurement Office Variations to the brief or extensions to the period of the original quotation may result in a situation where a new procurement process becomes necessary. Variations/Extensions are an exception and should be kept to a minimum. They should only take place where the changes that you make would not materially alter the original contract. Where a significant change to the contract scope, value or duration is proposed you must contact the Procurement Office.

Reference: PR20-001-E Released: 10/06/2013 Owner: Procurement Office